Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

[Lightninsurfer]

I wanted to buy a Warmoth body but I don't see anything about routing for a Mini humbucker. I thought I read here before that a mini hum works in a P-90 slot with a special mounting ring. Could anyone help me with this? Mini hums are the coolest and I'd really like to build a guitar with them. Thanks!!

 

[Benjy_26]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

Yep, mini's will fit into a P-90 slot if you use the mounting rings.

 

[Zhangliqun]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

Yep, mini's will fit into a P-90 slot if you use the mounting rings.

True.

The originals made by Gibson were designed to replace the P90 back in the late 60's, so naturally the idea was to not have to retool the line for a new route so they came up with a mounting ring that made the mini-hum a direct replacement for the P90. So if you have a Les Paul Deluxe (with mini-hums), you can do the reverse and replace the mini-hums with P90's.

The mini's didn't (and don't) sound anything like a P90 -- and to this day no-one has come up with a viable stack or other humbucker that can get that P90 sound minus the noise, so P90's are still with us and as popular as ever. (I heard Kinman is working on one but so far nothing yet.)

But the minibuckers have their own sound that became popular enough that they're still with us too.

 

[Aceman]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

Ignore the noise and listen to the music! Stevie Ray's Strat is kind of noisy-I've never heard anyone complain, including him...P-90's have a righteous tone!!!!

 

[chill]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

The trick is how to mount the mini. LP Deluxe style mounting apparently needs a bracket which is not readily available. If you want to top-mount them, a custom pickguard may be the way to go. I do not want to go there, so I will probably keep looking for a bracket or find a way to make one...

See this thread: https://forum.seymourduncan.com/showthread.php?t=52368

 

[Dirt123]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

You can make mini mounting rings out of P-90 covers, which will then fit into a P-90 cavity.

Trace the outline of the mini onto the P-90 cover, & cut it out with a coping or jigsaw.

Stick the pickup in the newly fashioned ring & mark the screw holes through the pickup's mounting feet.

Use 2 4-40 machine screws (the length should be about a 1/4 to 1/2 inch longer than the height of the pickup cover), a 1/2' long (or so) spacer & a 4-40 nut to mount the pickup on the ring: The screw goes through the top of the ring, next through the spacer, then the pickup feet (the feet are typically drilled for clearance of the screw, not tapped), & then the nut. Gibson then used to solder the nut to the screw; you will need a hot soldering iron to do this.

Put the pickup in the guitar cavity & tap lightly on the screw head to mark the location in the guitar for the screw-mounting hole. Drill a pilot hole in the cavity with a very small drill bit. Then try to screw the pickup screw into the body. (Some hardware stores have very cool threaded brass inserts that will screw into the guitar body, & will receive a machine screw) If you want to have some height adjustment, put a piece of foam in the bottom of the cavity.

I did the same thing to my Benelectro, which originally came with a P-90 in the front. I have since replaced it with a mini humbucker, & most recently a Tele Ant neck PU, which also fits into a p-90 cover.

Have fun.

 

[chill]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

Some hardware stores have very cool threaded brass inserts that will screw into the guitar body, & will receive a machine screw

Good ideas, thanks. And I wondered about the threaded inserts. Time for a trip to the hardware store...

 

[Lightninsurfer]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

Thanks everyone. I'm not replacing P90'S, but just thinking about trying something new. I LOVE P90 tone!! It's just that I'm looking for a different tone with a little less output and noise, a little more Fendery. I really dig the suggestions, though. I'd like to build a Fender/Gibson hybrid and guitars with mini hums are a lttle more scarce than P90 guitars.

 

[The Golden Boy]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

The originals made by Gibson were designed to replace the P90 back in the late 60's, so naturally the idea was to not have to retool the line for a new route so they came up with a mounting ring that made the mini-hum a direct replacement for the P90.

Actually, the mini was developed as a replacement after Gibson ran out of Epiphone "New York" pickups. They were only used on Epiphones, then on the Johnny Smith sigs. But as Zhang noted, the idea was to not have to retool, so they in effect did as Big Boy Bob said and were able to put that idea into production.

Minis do what they do. P-90s rock.

 

[Captain Tightpants]

Re: Mini Hums in a P-90 Slot??

There's a fella on E-bay, goes by zamuelatearthlink or something, he sells the mini-hum rings. I bought a couple for my Warmoth tele from him for 10 bucks or something.